A cloud of smoke hovers over the farmlands in the distance. Carla and Chelia were currently making their way to said location as they quickened their pace after witnessing something massive earlier.
"That explosion of flames...that was Natsu was it?" Chelia fretted.
"It definitely was." Carla confirmed, flying right next to the girl. "Meaning he's locked in combat with someone...but Hahlos was already dealt with." The Exceed felt some sweat leave her forehead. "So who is he up against...?"
Chelia pointed up ahead. "I can see the place more clearly! Let's hurry!" She urged, now beginning to sprint.
Despite the smokey air, the two were able to clearly see the farmlands and the ranchers. Many of them were attempting to clear out the flames that plagued their homes and crops. Some were waving silk to blow it away while others used spare water to dowse it out. The two girls could overhear what they were saying about the events that transpired here.
"It's a miracle that no one here got burned by those flames..." A middle aged male angel commented as he swiped his forehead.
An Exceed gently picks up charred remains of wood as he lifts his head up, looking at the damaged home. "How dare he...attack our homes like that!"
"I wonder if god Izanagi went back to town to deal with the rest of those terrorists..." A female angel wondered. She glanced over towards the direction of town and noticed two individuals approaching the area. The angel noticed a girl without halo or wings and immediately pointed at her. "H-hey! Look over there!"
The ranchers quickly turned their heads and saw Chelia and Carla emerge inside the smokey area. The two girls examined the area, seeing the damaged area and distraught civilians that stared at them both.
"It's another land walker? She looks so young."
"How did they get past god Izanagi?"
"Don't stare! She'll notice you!"
The two girls immediately felt the uncomfortable atmosphere. The ranchers kept their distance and looked away from the two. But they showed signs of aggression with their expressions, to the point that if either of them approached any of them it wouldn't go well.
"Natsu was clearly here...but where did he run off too?" Carla noted, seeing the wreckage.
"They're mentioning their god...you don't think-" Chelia feared before abruptly stopping her train of thought. She saw the angel they first met here, Henry, sitting and laying his back on his damaged house. But she also spotted someone inside the house, she recognized the figure immediately and the pink haired girl's eyes lit up.
"Carla! Look!" Chelia got Carla's attention and pointed. "There she is!" The two saw Wendy laying her back inside the house, she appeared unharmed.
Carla widened her eyes before letting out a huge sigh of relief, seeing her dear friend looking okay. The Exceed immediately flew right inside as Chelia followed shortly behind. The door was already busted open as they entered and approached the bluenette.
As Carla landed on the wood floor, she spotted loose blue strands of hair right in front of her. The amount appeared enough to fill the missing twintail from Wendy's hair. At that moment, Carla had a sinking feeling in her stomach.
Chelia sat on her knees and gently got a hold of Wendy's shoulders as she slowly shook her. "Wendy! It's us! We're here to save you!" She beamed, trying to wake her.
As the God slayer shook her friend, she saw Wendy's head limp over to the side like a ragdoll. The excitement in Chelia's body quickly diminished as she felt that her friend's body was cold.
Carla's sinking feeling in her stomach got even deeper as she hesitantly walked over. She tried to speak but her throat felt so dry it was practically impossible to utter anything.
"H-hey...come on..." Chelia frets, shaking Wendy's body again. "Don't do this...please wake up...!"
With the front door busted and the left side of the house demolished, it was easy to overlook what was going on inside. Ranchers who weren't preoccupied cleaning up began noticing what was going on and started to watch.
Chelia continued shaking Wendy's body as tears poured from her eyes like a waterfall. "Wendy please! It can't end like this! Get up!!" She begged. "The training we did paid off y'know! I was able to use magic for a moment! We all worked so hard to save you! So please don't let it end like this!"
Despite this, Wendy's body didn't even twitch.
Carla collapses on the floor as she too begins having tears leak out. All the hard work and risks they took were for nothing, she felt like she failed Wendy once again. The Exceed's vision gets blurry as she stares at the ground and begins to break down.
The ones who were watching had a hard time processing what was going on. It was the complete opposite of the encounter with Natsu earlier. Many of them weren't sure how to feel, except for one of them.
"Hey." Henry spoke up, he was still laying down by the front entrance. "Leave the two alone, can't ya see they're grieving?"
The ranchers showed signs of awkward body mannerisms as they went back to cleaning up. Henry continued to lay there as he overheard the two girl's breaking down.
"This country..." Henry lowered his head. "All it has done is take away, even those not living in it. When will it end?"
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"You're telling me Wendy isn't here?!" Lucy flabbergasted. Back at the castle, she and Happy were currently walking through the long white hallways. Lucy was clenching her shoulder as it was still in pain from her encounter with Sync earlier.
"Aye..." Happy replied, looking down. "Natsu had already left once he found out...he asked me to find you and pass on the info." The blue Exceed glanced out a window. "I hope he's okay..."
Lucy followed Happy's gaze and softly smiled. "I'm confident that he's doing just fine." She assured. "He may act reckless, but I know he'll get the job done."
Happy turned back at Lucy and nodded his head. "A-aye! I believe in him!"
"For now...we should find the others." Lucy advised, looking ahead. "Carla and Chelia may still be upstairs, and who knows where Gray is currently at. They should be informed as soon as possible!"
Lucy proceeds to start running but quickly stops in her tracks as she feels the pain on her shoulder again. She hisses and stumbles before leaning on a wall.
"Lucy! You're still hurt!" Happy urged.
"S-sorry..." Lucy chuckles. "I'll be fine! But...would it be much trouble to carry me for a little bit?"
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Back on the top floor in Izanagi's room, Gray was staring outside the window by the large bed. He noticed as he walked in that it was left open as the curtains blew in the wind.
"What was up with those clouds earlier..." Gray wondered. He turned around and observed the room. When he entered earlier, he was greeted with a huge mess as most objects were knocked over. Strangely, no object was in the middle of the room, but by the walls. The state of the room looked as if a huge burst of wind blew everything over.
The ice mage made his way out of the room as he hovered his hand over his chest. "Why do I have this...uneasy feeling..." He shook his head. "I shouldn't worry about that right now!"
As Gray makes his way backwards, he passes by the small bedroom he glanced at earlier. He took one last look at it, noting the destroyed chunk of wall. He already guessed who was in this room earlier.
"...Tch!" Gray growled before cracking his knuckles. "That four eyed punk better be awake, because I'm going to need some information."
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Jellal and Erza were slowly making their way to where Carla and Chelia went. The former assisted the latter in walking as he had his arm wrapped over her shoulder to keep her standing. Shortly before they left, they too saw the large fiery explosion and decided to meet up with the rest as soon as possible.
Erza stares at the ground, struggling to look up due to her fatigue. She chuckled and glanced her eyes at Jellal. "Live and struggle huh? I wonder where you got that line from?" She joked.
"Let's just say, a very stubborn friend told me that years ago." Jellal quipped back, looking back at Erza with a smile.
As the two continued getting closer to the farmlands, Erza stared ahead, deep in thought.
"That message Hahlos gave us...what did Wendy mean by that?" The swordswoman wondered.
"I'm not entirely sure myself." Jellal admitted. "But...do you think she-"
Right before the blue haired mage could finish his sentence, the two suddenly felt a harsh burst of wind brush by the two which nearly knocked them both over. Jellal got a tight grip on Erza and quickly stood her back up.
Jellal quickly glanced behind him. "What was that?!"
"It felt...familiar..." Erza realized. She began to recall the large explosion earlier and what Hahlos told the two. As she placed the pieces together, the swordswoman widened her eyes. "It can't be!"
Erza shoved Jellal out of his grip and started running to the farmlands, gaining some adrenalin abruptly. Jellal reached out before going after her in a rush.
It wasn't long until they both reached the farmlands. They both immediately saw the destruction, showing that there was a skirmish here earlier. The two then overheard crying in the corner of their left ear. They turned and saw Henry's house with Carla and Chelia inside. Several ranchers came back to the house out of curiosity on what was going on inside.
"Out of the way!" Erza demanded, swinging her arm and running towards them.
The ranchers saw Erza and Jellal and backed away in shock. One of them spoke up. "More land-walkers?! What's going on?!"
Erza stormed inside the house, which got the attention of Carla and Chelia. Jellal slowly approached behind and immediately spotted Wendy's body laying on the floor. With her body there and the reactions of the two girls, he realized what was going on rather quickly.
"E-Erza..." Carla choked out, her throat feeling dry.
Jellal clenched a fist tightly. "So...it was true then? Then that gust of wind earlier was..."
Erza stared down at Wendy's body as Chelia continued to break down in front of it. The swordswoman clenched her teeth tightly. "So Natsu didn't make it in time...? Was he fighting against..." As she thought, she widened her eyes and quickly stormed outside, shoving Jellal once again.
Henry looked up as he saw Erza storm out and stop in her tracks. She searched the whole area as it appeared she was looking for something. The swordswoman's face looked like she was in a panic as she began calling out for someone.
"NATSU! WHERE ARE YOU?!" Erza called. The ranchers cringed as they realized who she was calling out to. They looked away once Erza's eyes were on them. Jellal approached Erza and gently placed a hand on her shoulder. She looked down, her hair covering her eyes as she grinded her teeth.
"Wendy...you said that you still had faith..." Erza recalled from what Hahlos informed the two earlier. "You said that you still believed in us, that this country will still be saved...was this what you meant?!" She slammed a fist on the house wall she stood next too, creating an imprint. Erza covered her face with her other palm as her body shook. "Damn it all!"
Henry continued to stare at Erza and Jellal with a straight face before turning his attention in the distance, where Natsu fell. He sighed before resting his hands on his cheeks.
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Natsu's head was hurting as he slowly stirred awake. Once he opened his eyes, his vision was incredibly blurry. The last thing Natsu remembered was falling from the clouds. But strangely enough, even though he only saw the sky, his body was completely still. It was like time stopped as he was falling.
Once the fire mage woke up more, he noticed that his scarf was pulled up. At the same time, he heard high pitched grunting from above. Natsu slowly raised his head and saw a silhouette of an Exceed that was covered by the sun's shadow.
"H-Happy?" Natsu croaked.
Once the sun's shadow drifted away from the Exceed carrying him, he realized that it wasn't his blue furred companion. But a brown furred cat with black stripes, who looked like she was struggling flying back up.
"N-not exactly..." The female Exceed corrected.
Recognizing who it was, Natsu lowered his head and frowned. "Oh. It's you." He deadpanned.
"Don't you 'Oh, It's you' the person who's trying to rescue you!" Alivia chided.
"Why are you rescuing me?" Natsu wondered. "I thought you guys wanted me to get lost?"
As Alivia continued to try and fly Natsu back up, she glanced back up to where her home was. "Ah ask myself that same question...Especially since ya destroyed my home."
Natsu looked up at Alivia and raised an eyebrow.
The two go silent as the farmer Exceed doesn't stop flying back up carrying the fire mage. Alivia slowly closes her eyes as a memory flashes in her mind.
~~~Flashback~~~
Alivia was hiding herself behind the bedroom door but slightly peeking outside the door as it was cracked open. She was currently witnessing an argument as a young Henry was trying to hold back a larger male farming angel.
"Papa please!" Henry begged. "We're going to get in more trouble if you keep doing this!"
The young farmer's father had a small dark brown beard with no hair on his head. He wore a rough-looking tan long sleeved shirt and black ripped up khaki pants.
"You scumbag!" The older man raged, directing his attention to Hahlos as he stood by the house entrance holding a red stone. "Didn't you allow us ranchers to have permits to use magic?!"
Hahlos raised his arm, showing the red stone. "This stone contains arcane flame magic, no normal person has something like this in possession, Mr. Birch." He explained before placing the stone in his pocket. "Having dangerous magic like this is unforgivable in this peaceful country."
"Peh! You continue to call this country peaceful?!" Birch growled. "If you greedy Tenhei didn't hide away the *one* person who has healing magic, maybe my wife wouldn't have died from her disease! Do you even know how many times I kept requesting his powers?!"
Hahlos stares at Birch, showing no emotion nor responding to his harsh words.
"It's all your fault! These damn laws are a curse to this country! One day, you'll all realize that!" Birch cursed.
Henry continues to try and hold his father back while begging him to stop. Alivia shivered in place, not sure how to take this entire situation. Hahlos lowers his head and sighs.
"Mr. Birch, you are hereby under arrest for illegal possession of magic."
~~~Flashback End~~~
"Ya know..." Aliva started.
"Hm?" Natsu looked up.
"Me and Henry, we saw what happened last night." She revealed. "Ah just knew you and that girl were connected."
Natsu doesn't respond, which prompts the Exceed to continue.
"Ah've been told ah have a keen eye. Ah had my suspicions about this whole 'Exahelm's hero' business was sketchy." Alivia explained. "My suspicions were confirmed true not only when we witnessed your situation...but when me and Henry came across your friend this morning..."
Natsu slowly looks back down and sighs.
Alivia glanced down at Natsu for a moment before looking back up. "We didn't know what she fully looked like until this morning. But that girl looked like all the color was sucked outta her." She chuckled. "But the fact that our supposed savior was just some kid too..."
"Hey!" Natsu spoke up abruptly. Alivia glanced down and her face shriveled in shock, noticing Natsu glaring daggers right at her.
"Wh-what's with ya?!" Alivia gawked.
"Wendy isn't just 'some kid'! She's a Fairy Tail wizard!" Natsu berates. He looks back down and sighs. "She's a little lost right now...but that's why we're here! We're here to help her find her way, because she's family to us!" Natsu looks back up and clenches his right fist. "So don't go treating her like some helpless kid, you hear?!"
Alivia's eyes were wide from surprise. She proceeds to shut her eyes and scoff before looking back up. Natsu notices the Exceed crack a smile before realizing that the two were right back at the top.
The brown Exceed used the rest of her strength to pull the pinkette back up. She dropped him right at the edge of the cloudy cliff and collapsed on the floor immediately after. "F-finally...how are ya so...heavy...?" Alivia heaved.
Natsu stands up and dusts himself off. He rolls his right arm and gets some stretches in. Natsu looks back at Aliva and bends to his knees. Alivia raises her head, still exhausted, and looks at Natsu's friendly smile at her.
"Thanks! I owe you one!" Natsu thanked. He stood back up and waved at the Exceed before running off.
As Alivia watches Natsu get further and further away, she pulls herself up and sits on her bottom. She takes a deep breath and calls out to him. "Hey! One more thing!"
Natsu stops in his tracks and quickly glances behind him. Alivia's eyes stare back at Natsu's as she takes several deep breaths. The fire mage raises an eyebrow, wondering why he was stopped.
"Answer me this...and give me an honest answer!" Alivia implored, taking a couple more deep breaths. "Are you going to save our country...or destroy it?!"
Natsu didn't respond as he faced his entire body back at Alivia. The Exceed felt sweat leaving her temple, wondering if she made the right choice earlier. To her surprise, she sees Natsu smile brightly back at her as he slightly bent his body forward.
"Heh heh! Neither of course!" Natsu answers bluntly. He proceeds to quickly turn back around and run off, leaving Alivia sitting there.
"Ah-!" Aliva was caught off guard, unsure what to think of Natsu's answer.
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Back at Henry's house; Erza, Jellal, Carla and Chelia gathered around inside as they all were left lamenting. Jellal observed his allies before clenching his fist and swinging one arm.
"This isn't how this ends!" Jellal insisted. "There has to be a way! We need to find Natsu, he must know something!"
Erza sighed before scratching the back of her head. "You're right...something must've happened to him."
"H-hey...you don't think...he was defeated earlier was he?" Chelia hesitated, wiping her face with an arm.
"It's not like him to be taken out, he's the most stubborn person I know." Erza insisted as she began to leave the house. "I'm sure he-"
"HEEEEYYYY! There you guys are!" A voice called out in the distance which got the attention of not just the four, but the ranchers in the area. To their surprise, they see Natsu making his way towards them. To the relief of Erza and the others, and the utter horror of the civilians.
As the ranchers scramble and hide, seeing the man who went on a rampage earlier, some notice that he looked different than last time. In fact, his face read that of a completely different person than the one that was one of fiery fury.
Henry takes note of Natsu's expression as well, but he looked down and smiled. "Looks like Alivia made it then..." He thought.
As Erza and Jellal leave the house, the latter lets out a sigh of relief. Once Natsu caught up, he stopped in place and waved at the group. "Hey! Looks like you're all okay!" Natsu greets.
"Natsu..." Erza relieved.
"I'm grateful to see that you're okay as well." Jellal relieved before directing his attention inside and frowning. "But I'm afraid that we were all too late..."
Natsu walks on inside and sees Chelia and Carla laying by Wendy's body, appearing distraught. He walks over to the two and bends down on his knees. He pats both of their backs and smiles at them.
"Hey! There's no need to look like that! There's nothing to worry about now!" Natsu comforted, to the confusion of both girls.
"Nothing to worry about? Just what do you mean by that?!" Carla inquired.
Natsu gives his usual toothy grin and closes his eyes. "Because! Wendy is still alive!"